It's Time Again for the Hot Stove League!

mfpark said:
If they can get Murphy for a one or two year deal, maybe.  He is still a good, if streaky, hitter.  The last thing the Mets need is to be saddled with yet another high priced aging veteran on a three or more year deal.

 I think some team will give him 2 years with an option for 3. 

The problem with Murphy at this point is that he has a bad knee, and he never was a great fielder or baserunner, and he's likely to decline further. I think it's risky for an NL team to sign him. 


This morning on the radio someone suggested trading Syndegaard to the Cubs for Kris Bryant.  Both have three years of team control left.  I'd hate to lose a good pitcher, but that might be a good return.


Yanks trade for Paxton.  Mariners get one great and one good prospect, but Yanks get an immediate top of the rotation lefty.  Good trade for both teams.

The Yanks can now throw Severino (righty), Paxton (lefty), Tanaka (righty) and Sabathia (lefty) at teams--exceptional balance if Paxton stays healthy.  Last year was his first of full health and he reached tops in innings and strikeouts.  But the prior years he had a number of injuries.  Paxton is 30 but because of injury shortened years does not have a lot of mileage on his arm.  He is not eligible for free agency until 2021.

The Mariners get Justus Sheffield, who is one of the best young left handed prospects around.  He is only 22 years old and ready for the majors.  The M's also got Erik Swanson who might actually turn out to be a solid middle of the rotation/long relief pitcher.  Oh, and Dom Thompson-Williams who has only been at A and AA so not much to go on.


Very sad to see the great Adrian Beltre retire after 21 seasons.  What an awesome player, and what an awesome person.


Beltre is not one of the guys that immediately comes to mind when people list MLB stars.  Maybe it's because he played a lot of years for teams that weren't very good.  Aside from the 2011 Texas World Series run, his teams didn't play a lot of postseason games.  And most of his career was spent with Seattle and Texas, not exactly glamour franchises.  But his lifetime stats for a third baseman put him right up there with a bunch of HoF guys.  He should be first ballot when he's eligible.


When you think of the greatest third basemen of all time, Beltre stacks up near the top of the list.  He is the complete package--power, fielding, reasonable average, solid OPS, RBIs, great presence in the clubhouse, and did I mention superb fielding?

He compares well with, if not better than, Robinson, Santo, Matthews, and Jones, and outshines Boggs and Molitor.  The only third baseman I would take hands down over Beltre would be Schmidt who was freakily great.  When someone pooh-poohed Schmidt for a lifetime .267 average, Bill James said, "Well, if he had hit for a higher average he would have been the greatest player of all time."  He was that good.


mfpark said:

He compares well with, if not better than, Robinson, Santo, Matthews, and Jones, and outshines Boggs and Molitor.  The only third baseman I would take hands down over Beltre would be Schmidt who was freakily great. 

 Imagine my grin when I send your list to the Royals fan I've had a running debate with through four decades of friendship.


DaveSchmidt said:


mfpark said:

He compares well with, if not better than, Robinson, Santo, Matthews, and Jones, and outshines Boggs and Molitor.  The only third baseman I would take hands down over Beltre would be Schmidt who was freakily great. 
 Imagine my grin when I send your list to the Royals fan I've had a running debate with through four decades of friendship.

 I have to admit that mentioning Santo before Brett is a pretty serious oversight 


ml1 said:


DaveSchmidt said:

mfpark said:

He compares well with, if not better than, Robinson, Santo, Matthews, and Jones, and outshines Boggs and Molitor.  The only third baseman I would take hands down over Beltre would be Schmidt who was freakily great. 
 Imagine my grin when I send your list to the Royals fan I've had a running debate with through four decades of friendship.
 I have to admit that mentioning Santo before Brett is a pretty serious oversight 

 Yah, well, that's what I get for posting during work when I am crazy busy.  Brett and Arod as well, even though Arod was a shortstop for the first 10 years of his career.


I will leave the Mets trade for Cano/Diaz to the Mets thread, except to say that I hope Cano plays as well as he did before he was bounced for being a Yankee--er, drug abuser.  The prospects the Mets gave up may be a loss down the road, but if they want to make a run now with their current starting pitching, getting Diaz was critical.  It will be interesting to see how McNeil responds to being a super utility player as he is going to see time in the outfield and perhaps third base this year.

The other big news so far this week is the Dbacks sending Goldschmidt to the Cards for three really good prospects and a future draft pick.  This is a great trade for both teams.  Arizona needed to shed salary and stock up its thin system.  The Cards will plug Goldy in with Carpenter and a hopefully healthy Ozuna to create a scary middle of the lineup.  Goldschmidt might only be a one year rental, making the prospect package really expensive, but the Cards have a deep minor league talent pool.  

They are one team that seems to get it right year after year--solid drafting into the minor leagues, strategically signing big name stars and sandwiching them around rising role players.  The Cards have finished lower than 3rd place once since 2000, getting to the playoffs 10 times in that span.  But the last three years they have trailed the division leader by a lot even though the Cards had good years.  They need to get better than the Cubs and Brewers, and trading for Goldschmidt may help.


The Cards and Braves have amazing scouts. We should either a). duplicate their approach or b). hire a few of them for big bucks. What are the Mets getting wrong here? 


Goldschmidt to the Cards for very little!   Woohoo!  


NotoriousEAM said:
The Cards and Braves have amazing scouts. We should either a). duplicate their approach or b). hire a few of them for big bucks. What are the Mets getting wrong here? 

 There is no “we” in this thread.  cheese 


jeffl said:
Goldschmidt to the Cards for very little!   Woohoo!  

 Very little?  Weaver looks to be a solid mid-rotation arm who is controllable for another five years, and Kelly is potentially the Dbacks' starting catcher of the future.  Both are highly rated with some MLB experience already.  Young is a wildcard, not having much experience against mature players, but he put up good numbers last year in the low minors.


mfpark said:


jeffl said:
Goldschmidt to the Cards for very little!   Woohoo!  
 Very little?  Weaver looks to be a solid mid-rotation arm who is controllable for another five years, and Kelly is potentially the Dbacks' starting catcher of the future.  Both are highly rated with some MLB experience already.  Young is a wildcard, not having much experience against mature players, but he put up good numbers last year in the low minors.

 Weaver has been a bust so far and Kelly hasn’t shown he can hit ML pitching.  Neither figured into the Cards plans for 2019. AZ might do okay in the long run but pretty much everyone believes they could have gotten more.  


jeffl said:


mfpark said:



jeffl said:
Goldschmidt to the Cards for very little!   Woohoo!  
 Very little?  Weaver looks to be a solid mid-rotation arm who is controllable for another five years, and Kelly is potentially the Dbacks' starting catcher of the future.  Both are highly rated with some MLB experience already.  Young is a wildcard, not having much experience against mature players, but he put up good numbers last year in the low minors.
 Weaver has been a bust so far and Kelly hasn’t shown he can hit ML pitching.  Neither figured into the Cards plans for 2019. AZ might do okay in the long run but pretty much everyone believes they could have gotten more.  

 I think Goldschmidt saying he would not sign an extension with AZ basically killed his trade value.  Weaver had a really good first year, so he has it in him.  Kelly has just had a cup of coffee so far, and he is an excellent tools catcher if nothing else.  I think AZ got as good as they could, and Goldschmidt will be a FA in 2020.  A good trade for both teams in terms of what they needed and wanted.


mfpark said:


jeffl said:

mfpark said:



jeffl said:
Goldschmidt to the Cards for very little!   Woohoo!  
 Very little?  Weaver looks to be a solid mid-rotation arm who is controllable for another five years, and Kelly is potentially the Dbacks' starting catcher of the future.  Both are highly rated with some MLB experience already.  Young is a wildcard, not having much experience against mature players, but he put up good numbers last year in the low minors.
 Weaver has been a bust so far and Kelly hasn’t shown he can hit ML pitching.  Neither figured into the Cards plans for 2019. AZ might do okay in the long run but pretty much everyone believes they could have gotten more.  
 I think Goldschmidt saying he would not sign an extension with AZ basically killed his trade value.  Weaver had a really good first year, so he has it in him.  Kelly has just had a cup of coffee so far, and he is an excellent tools catcher if nothing else.  I think AZ got as good as they could, and Goldschmidt will be a FA in 2020.  A good trade for both teams in terms of what they needed and wanted.

 I’d be satisfied with a win win.  I was just certain the Cards would have to give up one of their young stud pitchers or OFs.   Weaver was probably 11th on the pitching hierarchy for them for next year.  And Kelly is blocked by Molina.  The proof will be over the course of five years, of course.  But right now, WOOHOO as a Cards fan!


DaveSchmidt said:


NotoriousEAM said:
The Cards and Braves have amazing scouts. We should either a). duplicate their approach or b). hire a few of them for big bucks. What are the Mets getting wrong here? 
 There is no “we” in this thread.  cheese 

 My bad! I get carried away talking about my - I mean, - The Mets! tongue rolleye


The Red Sawx re-sign Eovaldi.  Yes!


A slight divergence to the Hall of Fame.  Baines and Smith got placed by the veterans' committee.

Smith I can see as he was a dominating and imposing player over a long career.  

But Baines?  Meh.  He belongs in the Hall of the Very Good, not the Hall of Fame.


mfpark said:
A slight divergence to the Hall of Fame.  Baines and Smith got placed by the veterans' committee.
Smith I can see as he was a dominating and imposing player over a long career.  
But Baines?  Meh.  He belongs in the Hall of the Very Good, not the Hall of Fame.

If Baines is in, why not Mattingly.  He was a top 5 player in MLB for a good portion of the '80s.  I think someone who was that good for several years should be in the HoF.


mfpark said:
A slight divergence to the Hall of Fame.  Baines and Smith got placed by the veterans' committee.
Smith I can see as he was a dominating and imposing player over a long career.  
But Baines?  Meh.  He belongs in the Hall of the Very Good, not the Hall of Fame.

If Baines is in, why not Mattingly.  He was a top 5 player in MLB for a good portion of the '80s.  I think someone who was that good for several years should be in the HoF.


Baines is a mistake.  A shameful mistake because he is such a good person who had a solid career.  Now he will be remembered as the guy who wasn't good enough but gamed the system, even though he didn't.


Cross-posting with Mets thread.

Mets, Yanks, and Marlins in a three-way?  Sounds kinky.  Would the Mets really give up Noah (3 years of club control) for Realmuto (2 years of club control) and then watch him throw BBs for the Yankees across town?  

Maybe if they can do a sign and extend with Realmuto, but if not, fuggedaboudit!



Yanks now saying that they are "open to trading" Miguel Andujar.  He would certainly get interest from the Indians in return for a front line starting pitcher; and quite likely he would be the price for the Realmuto-Syndergaard three way deal.  Makes some sense if the Yanks sign Machado although Manny says he wants to play shortstop and not third base.  Still, with Gregorius out until at least mid-season with Tommy John surgery, Machado would get a lot of games in at shortstop next year.


As a Mets fan who really wants a good catcher, I wouldn't trade Syndagaard for Realmuto.  


mfpark said:

Makes some sense if the Yanks sign Machado although Manny says he wants to play shortstop and not third base.

 I think I recall reading that he (or his agent) has backed off that stance more recently.


FilmCarp said:
As a Mets fan who really wants a good catcher, I wouldn't trade Syndagaard for Realmuto.  

 Totally agree.


Train_of_Thought said:


FilmCarp said:
As a Mets fan who really wants a good catcher, I wouldn't trade Syndagaard for Realmuto.  
 Totally agree.

 Me three.  Noah is quite potentially a once in a decade pitcher, along with deGrom.  Catchers get old really fast.  Better to build up production out in the field and settle for catchers who handle pitchers well, frame well, and throw out runners even if they have pedestrian batting production.


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